Southern Coast, Skogafoss, Sands of Black, and Sea Stacks

Southern Coast, Skogafoss, Sands of Black, and Sea Stacks

Descending southward from the central Highlands, our group continues to traverse parts of the "Golden Circle" of Iceland's most scenic locations. Reaching the coast near Skogar, traveling eastward, we pass beneath Eyjafjallajokull volcano and enormous icecap. Eyjafjallajokull (or the E-volcano as many newscasters chose to say) was the one that exploded in 2010 shutting down all air traffic across the North Atlantic for 2 weeks. It wasn't so much because of the volcanic ash in the atmosphere, but rather because this volcano spewed forth larger and harder particles of what was essentially ground glass. That material was thought to be particularly unfriendly to aircraft engines. Icelanders themselves worried about the enormous amounts of water that would gush down from the flanks of the volcano as the heat of the eruption abruptly melted large areas of the icecap. In fact, locals in the area practice evacuation drills on a regular basis, in the event of such an occurrence.

This southern coastal area, located at the base of Eyjafjallajokull and larger Myrdalsjokull volcanic icecaps boasts a number of especially beautiful waterfalls.

 William, one of our group leaders, photographing Seljalandsfoss waterfall

Watching the sunset through the falls, from a passage behind it.

A pair of elves discovered beneath the falls 

Hope you can see this video of our group waiting for better color, getting sprayed and trying to protect camera gear from a soaking.

Pano of a black sand beach near the town of Vik.

Set of sea stacks, called Reynisdrangur - traditionally believed to be trolls which solidified after staying out too long and being caught in the sun.

Glad we have our cold weather gear, because it doesn't feel like summer here!

Enjoy, 

Barbara and Paul